smarter traveling, driving and spending
Top scams targeting seniors include identify theft, sweepstakes, home repairs, romance and investments frauds. Seniors lose an estimated $2.9 billion each year to financial scams, according to a Congressional report released in January 2019. The vast majority of cases of elder exploitation involve family members, aides and other trusted people. But strangers, too, prey on
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Scam Alert. Unfortunately, many cars and trucks flooded in hurricanes and other deep water disasters wind up for sale by unscrupulous dealers to unsuspecting customers. Here’s how to avoid getting soaked by buying a vehicle that is – simply – dangerous to drive. Electronics, including computer chips, hate water Since modern vehicles are heavy on
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Scam alert: The next time you see a missed call on your mobile phone or landline from a number you don’t recognize, don’t call back. The one ring phone fraud is back, and if you fall for it, you could find yourself charged a bundle, perhaps as much as $30. The call looks like it
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Robocall Scam Alert: We’re all being hounded incessantly by robocalls, both on our landlines and on our smartphones. But we are not powerless to block the scammers and telemarketers who bother us night and day, including weekends and holidays. First of all, the Federal Trade Commission “do not call” registry does not work. It blocks
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Scam alert: You’ve heard the catchy jingle on radio and TV hundreds of times. But Kars4Kids may not be what it seems. The car donation charity has been accused repeatedly of misleading donors and misuse of funds. If you are considering donating Old Breakdown to a charity, to get a tax donation, research that charity
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Political turmoil, blizzards and snowstorms that shut down airports in winter, hurricanes that shut down airports in summer and fall, computer outages, an injury or family emergency that prevents you from taking the trip you paid for, and more. These are all reasons to have travel insurance. The headline-making news of the grounding of all
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Scam alert: You might not have started working on your 2018 Income Tax returns yet, but identity thieves are already hard at work phishing for your tax refund. Identity theft scammers stole more than $5.2 Billion in Tax ID thefts in a recent year, according to the Federal Trade Commission, which reports that it’s the
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Scam Alert: Avoid a romance scam that will break your heart this Valentine’s Day, even steal your life savings. Scammers and fraudsters know that online dating websites see a surge in sign-ups between New Year’s Day and Valentine’s Day, and the bad guys are busy trolling for lonely men and women, especially seniors living alone.
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The stats are in, and here are the most popular ecoXplorer posts of 2018. You are a smart group of followers who want to avoid being ripped-off, since most of the top posts are our “scam alert” advisories. And an eclectic bunch, since other top posts ranged from endangered animals to a kitschy stretch limousine.
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The newest email scam is the one that says “check your order”, “your order status” or something similar, from businesses you are likely to shop, including Walmart, Costco, Target and Walgreens, and also from FedEx and NetFlix. I’ve gotten fraudulent emails from those scam senders in recent weeks, and maybe you have, too. The scam
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